A PECULIAR-LOOKING plant growing naturally on the lawn of a 66-year-old woman in Kg Lumapas was identified by Heart of Borneo Centre Chief Executive as the ‘Amorphpophallus paeoniifoluis’ or stink lily.

“If it grows naturally the plant’s recent discovery would be the first recorded case of it ever growing in the sultanate,” said the chief executive of Brunei HoB Centre Mahmud Hj Mohd Yussof.

The plant, according to information on the ASEAN centre of Biodiversity’s website, is one of two of the largest flowers in the world found native to Borneo Island.

The 66-year-old senior citizen who made the discovery, Murah Namit, initially described her find as “A leafless flower stalk growing directly from the ground” which has started growing progressively since Thursday.

“At first, I thought it was just a wild plant but it started to grow differently after few days. The ‘leaf’ seems leathery and varies in colour. There were times I saw flies around the flower,” she said.

She added that residents from the village who flocked to her place to witness the unusual plant growth kept on saying the flower might be a ‘corpse flower’ or ‘Bunga Bangkai’ and it supposedly has rotting smell. But for the past few days I didn’t smell anything rotten coming from the flower,” she said. The plant was described to be measuring approximately 70cm wide and 50cm tall with maroon and purple coloured flowers.

DESPITE first making its appearance in the Sultanate during the 1940s, Kuih Mor continues to be a household favourite today as a tea time snack or festive treat particularly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Siti Norhafizah Hj Bagol, a final year student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam who researched on Kuih Mor as part of her Brunei Traditional Industry module, said the three-ingredient sweet treat may have existed in Brunei as early as the 1940s when padi was known to have been grown to make different food items.

Over time, the cookie has also become a popular door-gift choice often handed out at Malay weddings or gatherings, said Siti Norhafizah.

Made with flour, oil and granulated sugar which have been ground into a powder, the bite-sized biscuits have a crumbly texture and are coated with powdered sugar.

The age-old technique of making Kuih Mor by hand has however changed over the course of time, with many now opt…

BY COMMAND of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Prime Minister’s Office hereby announces that His Majesty has consented to the transfer and appointment of the following senior officers – Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid, Permanent Secretary (Law and Welfare) at the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau and Solicitor General has been transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; and Datin Elinda binti Haji CA Mohamed, Special Senior Duties Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau.